Paul Turner at Genesys, Dave Hoekstra at Calabrio, and Nikki Quinn at Playvox explain the workforce management (WFM) tools that are available.
What WFM Tools Are Available?
Paul Turner (Genesys)
Paul Turner
So within the WFM itself, traditionally you would see tools around long- and short-term forecasting, the ability to create a forecast for the next few weeks, or perhaps the ability to create a forecast for the next few years.
Of course, you need a process to generate a schedule.
Within that schedule generation, over the last few years specifically, we’ve seen a number of additional tools come in that are really centred around the employees’ input into that process, rather than just being given the schedule itself.
An example would be preferences within their shift, or indicating where they will be available within their day, or week, to do some flexible time.
Dave Hoekstra (Calabrio)
Dave Hoekstra
Over the years, as the technology has matured, we’ve brought in so many tools now that we almost have lost the definition of what workforce management truly is.
We do forecasting, we do scheduling, we do agent management, we do shift trades, we do shift bidding.
We do any number of engagement tools.
It’s really about making sure we manage appropriately the information coming in and going out of our contact centre.
Integrations are a huge part of workforce management as well. Being able to consolidate a lot of data.
Nikki Quinn (Playvox)
Nikki Quinn
From an employee perspective, options like preferred hours of working, and available hours of working are a must.
As is self-service options to do shift-swaps, annual leave, and apply for additional hours that may have been published, and even shift bidding as well.
Dave Hoekstra (Calabrio)
What we are really trying to provide with the WFM tools is making sure that the information that is available will always be ready for whomever needs it.
Whether we’re talking about agent, team lead, a supervisor, even all the way up to a VP of CX.
So we have reporting tools, we have any number of wonderful things. And thank goodness we have mobile apps today as well because it completely changes the way we approach this.
So from a tools perspective, we’ve got more than we could possibly name. But remember, it’s all in the effective goal of making sure that everyone has the right information at their fingertips.
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